Shadows of the Mind
by Yoshikuni Kaito
Summary: My version of the first part of Kingdom Hearts 1. Came up with it in the middle of geometry. Maybe you'll think its better than it sounds. READ IT, NOW! thank you...


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts at all. If I did, I would be a very happy person.

**Author's Note:** This is a somewhat original story. I forget how, but I started writing this in the middle of my geometry class. Not out of boredom… I just started writing it. Hope you enjoy my wandering "imagination."

My eyes opened slowly and I found myself floating in midair, my body weightless. There was a light shining from somewhere up above me. I was blinded and suddenly I was standing in a long hallway. A candle with a flickering flame was clasped in my hand. Its rays did not reach very far as they quickly disappeared into the abyss and were swallowed.

I felt alone in this dark world of mine. No friend to talk to, not even a stranger. I would have enjoyed anyone's company to keep from going insane. It was dark. It was cold. It was my hell. Trying to bring myself back from the nothingness I was creating, I thought of my friends and family. Those from my past and present that were close to me. Mom, dad, Wakka, Tidus, Selphie, Riku… Kairi…. Everyone. All of their faces I could see clearly. A warm breeze came into the area and I smiled.

Looking up, I saw a pair of yellow eyes staring at me. I raised the candle above my head to get a better view. There was a small black creature, like a shadow, staring back at me.1 It slowly crept towards me. As it did, the shadow was constantly looking around itself, as if expecting some danger to jump out from the darkness. When it finally reached me, it lifted its hand. Curious, I reached out to touch it. My finger touched the shadow's antenna ever so lightly. A jolt of pain swept through my entire body and I screamed, falling to the ground.

Frightened, the shadow ran from me and the candle was blown out. A chill ran through my body and my face became covered in cold sweat. I panted heavily wondering what had just happened. There was a rush of emotions I had never felt then: pain, suffering, fear, regret, guilt, hatred. Of course I had felt these before, but not like this. I was hit full force. I shivered uncontrollably under the strain.

When the feeling had passed, my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, somewhat. I looked up from where I lay to see that more pairs of yellow eyes now watched me. The glow from those eyes gave off and faint, ominous light that enabled me to see the outline of the creatures. There were hundreds of them. Some were tall, others short. Wings and swords. Claws and wands. Shield with faces. Looking at them, I could see that each of them had a heart-shaped hole in their chests. Why, I did not know. The squeaks and bellows that came from their mouths seemed to speak one word and one word only: _heart_. I was what the craved for.

I was completely surrounded. And they were closing in. Slowly, but surely, they moved toward me. I screamed at them to scare them off. They didn't listen, moving closer still. My heart was their next target and they were not about to stop. I continued to scream and shout, but to no avail. My cries fell on deaf ears. I closed my eyes and covered my ears so that I didn't see the shadows that meant to devour my soul. Letting out a final cry, my body collapsed and the creatures pounced upon my limb form.

Next thing I knew, my soul had left my body and from a distance I watched what those without hearts did to what was left of me. They seemed to cheer because of their trophy. Two of the shadows that had wings and long rounded swords lifted my body from the ground and carried it down the hall to an unknown destination.2 The others made a line and paraded down the antechamber after them. Floating in the air, there was nothing I could do but follow them.

Flying over the shadows, I tried to recall the images of my friends and family again. I could not reach them. They were too distant and fading fast from my memory. Soon they would nothing more. Looking around the hall, I saw that there were other souls. They were all flying next to or over a specific shadow. Either they had been destroyed by the creatures themselves or the shadows were the result of their hatred. It was not known to me exactly where they came from.

The two flying shadows carrying my body had now neared an insignia hanging the air. It was in the shape of a black hearts. With a red X in the middle, the bottom curved out to three points. I noticed that the same thing was on the shadows. The two shadows passed through the insignia as did the rest of them. I did the same. Doing so, another rush of emotions came over me. But this only one: pure evil. The desire to cause nothing but suffering for others. The recklessness of the mind, a soul without a heart. _Heartless_. That was what these creatures were.

The procession had now come to a large, stone door. Engraved with an intricate pattern, it stood at the end of the hall. But there was no end of the hall. It was just a door. The Heartless stood in total silence for a few minutes. Suddenly, the door opened and light burst through the small crack. The shadows seemed to cheer as the door creaked open. I wanted to see what behind the door myself. The long trek was all for this moment. When the door was finally open, I looked and I saw…

I saw the hell from whence the Heartless came.

Journeying inside the passageway, I saw that along the ground of this chamber, huge mounds of the small shadows I had first seen reached towards the ceiling, forming columns around the room. Fat Heartless stood guard on the walls while those with wings flew about the air.3 Off in one corner, small shadows with the powers of fire, thunder, ice, and healing fought amongst themselves, causing each other to explode in black dust, only to reappear a few moments later.4 Nearing the end of the great chamber, Heartless' standing in lines on each side lifted their sabers in salute to the ones who carried my body, as the two flew between them. The others that were in the parade gathered behind them.

My body was brought to throne in the back of the room. It seemed to have been made from darkness itself. No one sat there; it was just an empty chair. My body was placed on the steps that led up to the throne and the shadows instantly disappeared, their task complete.

The dust that came from the deceased shadows began to collect in front of the throne at the top of the steps. But they did not form a demented, twisted body. They took on the form of a man. When the dust had finally become flesh and blood, before me stood a man that knew nothing but evil. The man wore black leather pants, a black shirt, and a flowing white trench coat. He had long white hair and orange eyes with small black pupils. As his wandering eyes searched the room, they seemed to rest on me. It was as if he man could see me floating there. A sinister smirk formed on his lips. I gulped.5

Crossing his arms, the man proceeded to lift a single finger. My soul raced towards the body that lay at his feet. Then everything went black. I felt as if I was in my body once again, but I was not sure. Slowly opening my eyes, I found that the man was looking down at me, and he was smiling.

"Get up," he said.

Not knowing what else to do, I obeyed. Looking around the room, I turned to the man and asked him, "Who are you?"

"I am Ansem, the seeker of Darkness."

I cringed at his answer. "Is any of this… real?"

"It's as real you make it out to be."

"Where am I?"

"You are in the heart of all darkness. This is the sanctuary of the shadows that exist throughout the galaxy. No light can reach us here. None…"

At that moment, every single Heartless in the room vanished in a cloud of dust. It surrounded Ansem and me. I couldn't see anything. But I could still hear as the Seeker called out to me.

"Where are you from?"

"I live in Destiny Island's."

"Is that where you really come from, or is that what someone told you?"

"It's the truth!" I said, defending myself.

"That is _not_ where you came from," Ansem replied.

"Where do I come from, then?"

"The question is not 'from where.' It is 'from what.'"

"What you do you mean?"

"It _means_…" The room was now clear of all dust and in it stood only me and Ansem. "That you are not who you think you are." He turned and began to walk away, disappearing into the darkness.

"Wait!" I ran after him. As he came into view, without warning, he turned around. With a gesture of his hand, I froze. I was unable to move no matter how hard I tried. The cold feeling was now taking over my body again. His fingers seemed to claw at my heart, in an attempt to tear it from my chest. But when it seemed as if he was about to, a ray of light exploded with being and Ansem retracted, bellowing in pain. I stood there in shock. How could one who was so powerful be so weak?

As the light reverberating from my body died down, another shimmer of light flashed in my hand. I looked down and saw that I now held a key.6 And the key was glowing. It gave off a great amount of light, more so than the candle and even the sun. I was surprised that I was not blinded from looking at it. I was entranced. I looked up to see if Ansem was still there, but he was gone. I called for him, but no one answered. Nothing. Nothing was in the room, but I did not feel alone anymore. The warmth that this key gave off gave a sense of being at home, at peace with the world I lived in.

Something inside me kept say, _Fight the darkness. Find the light. Fight the darkness. Find of light_… That phrase became a part of me. I knew not what it meant, but when the time came, I would fight. I came to this decision using my heart, and my heart only.

The dark world that I was in them began to rewind itself. I saw Ansem, the throne, the door. I saw the parade of Heartless, the devouring of my body, the candle. I saw the light above me. And I was once again blinded……

I opened my eyes to find that I now lay on the sand of my home. The kind eyes of my two best friends, Riku and Kairi, looked down at me smiling.

"Do you know how long you've been asleep?" said Kairi.

"No," I answered. "How long?"

"A good five hours." This time it was Riku. Standing up straight, he reached out and helped me to my feet.

"C'mon, Sora," he said. "We still need to finish building our raft so we can get off this island."

"Even if we did he would probably just fall asleep again. Like he always does." Kairi giggled.

The two walked off down the coastline to where our raft was being built. Looking after them, I tried to remember what had just occurred in my dream. I could recall nothing. It was all a blur. All I could remember was the last part of the reverie: _Find the light_. I didn't know what this meant, but I knew that it was something important. Putting it away for later use, I ran to catch up with Riku and Kairi. Little did I know that that was the beginning of an epic adventure.

It was kind of a hassle writing this since this part was already "covered" in the beginning of Kingdom Hearts. Hope it wasn't a hassle to read. R&R!

1 A shadow! No duh…

2 In case you didn't know, these are Invincibles. I don't know how else to describe them…

3 Big Bodies, Fire Bandits. Invincibles, Angel Stars, and Air Soldiers

4 Kinda self explanatory

5 Who else, but Ansem!

6 Bring on the Keyblade.


End file.
